"The name of life is to move. Move your mind, move your heart, and move physically. We don't determine the result, God does. But if we don't move, there will be no result. The human obligation is to move. So, life must move (urip iku kudu obah)." 

That is the message of Didik Isdiyanto, the manager of KUD Tani Wilis Tulungagung. He is an alumnus of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Airlangga University, who graduated in 1988. When he graduated from university, Didik had to make a life choice to work. There were four options that Didik needed to consider at that time. Those were becoming civil servants, working on a chicken farm, a medicine company, or a dairy farm.

From these considerations, Didik decided he would be more comfortable if his knowledge directly touched the community. So he decided to devote his knowledge to dairy farming.

Didik revealed that in the middle of the first and second semesters of university, he had visited the Nongkojajar, Pasuruan. There was a veterinarian who was providing services. He was very impressed by that. Finally, he was motivated and wanted to work in a Village Unit Cooperative to apply his knowledge directly to the community. 

"At that time, I didn't want to choose a big cooperative. Instead, I looked for a small cooperative that did not have a veterinarian and was located on a mountain slope. Finally, after looking around, I chose to go to Sendang District, Tulungagung Regency. I applied to GKSI (Gabungan Koperasi Susu Indonesia) Komda East Java and told the GKSI board at that time that I hoped to be placed in Sendang District, Tulungagung Regency," Didik said.

His reason for choosing a small cooperative was because of the challenges involved. "If I am in a small cooperative, it is like a whale in a pond, but if I am in a big cooperative, it is like a whale in the ocean. If the whale is in the pond, it is visible," he said. Didik's motivation in his career is to devote his knowledge to the small community.

Career Journey at KUD Tani Wilis 

At the beginning of his career at Tani Wilis, Didik held a position as an animal health medical officer. That is, serving sick cows and mating injections for cows. At that time, KUD Tani Wilis was ranked outside the top 10 in East Java. Currently, it has become number 5.

In 1989, Didik was asked to become head of the dairy cattle unit. Then in 1994, he was asked to be the manager of KUD Tani Wilis until 1999. Then in 1999, in May, he resigned due to one thing related to his health. He then returned as head of the Dairy Unit until March 2006. From March 2006 until February 2020, he was appointed Manager of KUD Tani Wilis, again overseeing about 140 more employees.

In cooperatives, managers are appointed by the board. In 2020, Didik was chosen to be one of the managers. The board consists of a Chairman I, Chairman II, Secretary I, Secretary II, and Treasurer. Didik occupied the Treasurer section while intending to reorganize the management.

KUD management means carrying out KUD's vision and mission. Currently, Didik is a manager in the Treasurer section. Even though he is the Treasurer, Didik is still asked to be in charge of activities in the dairy unit. So it is not only related to finance but also thinking about how in the future, breeders are getting better skills. KUD can also provide livestock production facilities needed by breeders. For the future, Didik's focus is for the dairy cooperative to have a forage industry for the cows' needs all the time.

Counselling as a Form of Change 

Didik revealed that when he first entered Tani Wilis, there were many cases of cattle death. The causes were various. Some were due to malnutrition, worm diseases, and reproductive disorders. So he thought that farmers should be educated. Starting from there, he then created livestock groups that he routinely visited every month and provided counselling to farmers.

Initially, some of his fellow cooperative managers rejected the plan to form the extension group. They thought that it would be a hassle for the organization. But Didik thought that technical matters or the skills of dairy farmers were much more important. In the end, his friends understood.

The second obstacle Didik experienced was changing farmers' habits in raising cattle. The work to change farmers' skills is not enough just by counselling for 1 to 3 years. He believes it is not easy to give information to farmers about management. The solution is to conduct counselling and post information at posts patiently.

Didik still remembers the obstacles he experienced in 2000. At that time, Nestle, the company supplying milk from Tani Wilis, set a strict SOP for milk handling. Starting from the shelter post and so on. The aim was to make it more hygienic and of higher quality. At that time, Nestle asked to close several posts that were considered not in accordance with the SOP.

"My team and I responded that every life must have obstacles. Life can't be smooth. Every life must have challenges, and every obstacle must have a solution," said the man who is also active in routinely guiding students doing PKL at KUD Tani Wilis.

Active in Career, Entrepreneurship, and Sports 

Besides actively working at KUD Tani Wilis, Didik also owns dairy cows that are entrusted to several farmers with a profit-sharing pattern. He also owns a veterinary medicine shop managed by his wife at home. According to Didik, being an employee is just one of the opportunities in life. Being an entrepreneur or having your own business is even more interesting. He hopes that graduates should not think about becoming employees. It is okay to be an employee at first, but you must have your own business at some point. Whatever it is.

In 1998 Didik had set up a soccer school in Dono village, where he lives. But five years ago it was closed because the coach was old. So there was no one to handle it. For now, Didik actively participates in badminton. One to two times a week, he does the sport.

"The university bench is only one side of the provision. The discipline of science is only one side of the many sides that we must have when we jump in. Because the other side is not our discipline, but how we can have leadership knowledge, interpersonal communication, how we have to be patient and give in, and how we deal with older and younger people. That's what's important."

"So it's a shame if you only get knowledge in university, but you don't get the knowledge that is actually needed in society. Because when we graduate, our discipline may only be used for 5-6%, 90% is not related to it," Didik said.

According to him, the most special knowledge from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was when his lecturers and seniors told us that we must be close to farmers. By conveying information in the language of farmers, having the patience to make changes and enjoying life with farmers.

Currently, despite being an administrator, Didik also remains active and enjoys conducting counseling and handling cows with reproductive disorders. "Because there is no one who handles reproductive disorders. So it's okay for me to go down by myself. It's even better if I go up the mountain", he joked.

  Source : The Footprints of Airlanggas's Knights Edition V